Simple Solution

Until recently I had no idea that I was born a narrow minded, racist. I’m okay with that because, after all, I was born that way. I’ve known since 1975 that I was an evangelical, religious fanatic and that’s my own fault. Meanwhile, I’ve embraced my inherent lack of compassion and racial sensitivity and found that I am nonetheless happy as a WASP.

One reason for my joy is that my background prepares me to come up with simple solutions to complex problems. Let me share a “fer instance” with you. Below is a section of an AP news report written by a fellow named David Crary. He says:

“In every region of America, white and Asian children are far better positioned for success than black, Latino and American Indian children, according to a new report appealing for urgent action to bridge this racial gap. Titled "Race for Results," the report is being released Tuesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which for decades has worked to improve child well-being in the United States.

Using a single composite score with a scale of one to 1,000, Asian children have the highest index score at 776, followed by white children at 704. "Scores for Latino (404), American-Indian (387) and African-American (345) children are distressingly lower, and this pattern holds true in nearly every state," said the report.

Patrick McCarthy, the Casey Foundation's president, said the findings are "a call to action that requires serious and sustained attention from the private, nonprofit, philanthropic and government sectors to create equitable opportunities for children of color."

Let’s don’t over react. I have a racist, hypocritical, simplistic, solution to the problem? “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The problem, as I see it, has nothing to do with race---it is a problem of culture. African-American children don’t lag because they are black skinned or are oppressed. They lag because ghetto, barrio, reservation, and trailer park cultures do not value education.  Or if you prefer, segments of African-American, Latino, Native and White culture do not value education as a means to success.

Of course, I don’t have any scientific studies or statistics to quote. The only data I have to back up what I’m saying is a lifetime of observation. Parental emphasis on education is reflected in the performance of their children; race is a distant second at best. When “getting on a check” is the family’s focus for the future of its children, this will be reflected in the test scores of the children. Is that racist? If the shoe fits…I’ll gladly wear it.

Paul Ryan was recently quoted as saying our country was in a, “tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value of work.”

He was immediately criticized by the Congressional Black Caucus. “When he says ‘inner city’ ‘culture’ these are simply code words for what he really means: black.” They went on to say “a serious policy conversation on poverty should not begin with assumptions and stereotypes.”

Should we begin with the politically correct delusions that more money or bigger schools will produce scholars independent of family values?  

Let me bury myself a little deeper and paraphrase Mark Twain’s thinking. Twain believed that education and schooling are not the same thing. Telling kids to “Go to school,” is not promoting education. Making children go to school is even less educational. Mandatory public education worked in the days when education was left to the local school district. This is no longer the case. In its efforts to effect “equality” the federal government has succeeded in reducing public education to its lowest common denominator.

More money, smaller classes, common core standards and ignoring culture will not improve education. Seeing parents who continue to educate themselves promotes education like nothing else can. Parents who preach education for education’s sake are better equipped than any government program to produce educated children.

Convince a child to value his own skin more than a sheepskin and you educate rather than school. Raise readers and you will raise lifetime learners. Parents raise readers by being readers. The solution lies with parents. It’s not the government and it’s not the school system who decides your child’s future---it’s you. The cultural environment of the home points children down the road of life and they do not depart from it easily.